Orange County Sheriff's Office honors deputies, civilians

Alyssa Vasquez, 16, talks about receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, Monday, June 19, 2017, during a ceremony at OCSO headquarters in Orlando. Vasquez was honored for being a witness to an armed robbery and assisting Orange deputies in tracking and identifying the suspect during the incident. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Alyssa Vasquez, 16, talks about receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, Monday, June 19, 2017, during a ceremony at OCSO headquarters in Orlando. Vasquez was honored for being a witness to an armed robbery and assisting Orange deputies in tracking and identifying the suspect during the incident. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Thanks to Alyssa Vasquez, 16, a man suspected of armed robbery was arrested.

Alyssa witnessed the robbery Feb. 28 at a Family Dollar and immediately ran outside and told her dad. He called 911 and tailed the suspect in his car while giving updates to deputies, who soon made an arrest.

“Looking back, it was good thing I ran,” Alyssa, an incoming high school senior, said Monday. “Otherwise, my little sister would have come into the store, and that would have made it a totally different situation.”

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings on Monday gave Alyssa a certificate of appreciation for her role in the arrest during a bimonthly awards ceremony that also honored dozens of other residents and deputies.

“Without the assistance of this 16-year-old young lady, we would not have been able to apprehend that individual,” Demings said.

The ceremony, held in a training room at the Sheriff’s Office, lauded law officers and civilians who performed acts of bravery. Others were recognized for years of service.

Sgt. Steve Fortier and Florida Department of Corrections Officer James Miller received the Medal of Merit for pulling a driver from a vehicle that caught fire after it ran off the road and hit a palm tree March 9.

Master Deputy Jeffrey Riggs saved an unconscious motorist March 20 who blacked out from an epileptic seizure, hit a pole and drove his car into a retention pond. He also helped bystanders rescue the man’s two children from the back seat.

Riggs, too, received the Medal of Merit. It typically is earned by helping save someone, according to awards coordinator Michele Jones.

Deputy First Class Jonathon Brown received a Combat Award and the Medal of Valor, while Master Deputy Eric Lucas received a Medal of Merit.

Orlando police released 911 calls from the death of 3-year-old Myles Hill on Thursday. Myles died Aug. 7 after being left in a van all day by a day care worker at Little Miracles Academy. The first call, at 8:06 p.m., from Myles’ grandmother saying he never came home from day care. About 20 minutes later a day care worker calls to say she found Myles dead in the van.

Orlando police released 911 calls from the death of 3-year-old Myles Hill on Thursday. Myles died Aug. 7 after being left in a van all day by a day care worker at Little Miracles Academy. The first call, at 8:06 p.m., from Myles’ grandmother saying he never came home from day care. About 20 minutes later a day care worker calls to say she found Myles dead in the van.

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Orlando police released 911 calls from the death of 3-year-old Myles Hill on Thursday. Myles died Aug. 7 after being left in a van all day by a day care worker at Little Miracles Academy. The first call, at 8:06 p.m., from Myles’ grandmother saying he never came home from day care. About 20 minutes later a day care worker calls to say she found Myles dead in the van.

Orlando police released 911 calls from the death of 3-year-old Myles Hill on Thursday. Myles died Aug. 7 after being left in a van all day by a day care worker at Little Miracles Academy. The first call, at 8:06 p.m., from Myles’ grandmother saying he never came home from day care. About 20 minutes later a day care worker calls to say she found Myles dead in the van.

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The Florida Department of Corrections has canceled visitation at all 149 state prisons and issued a statement citing a security threat.

The Florida Department of Corrections has canceled visitation at all 149 state prisons and issued a statement citing a security threat.

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Deputies arrested a man they say is responsible for an explosion that destroyed a McDonald’s bathroom last month and another explosion at an auto parts store.

Deputies arrested a man they say is responsible for an explosion that destroyed a McDonald’s bathroom last month and another explosion at an auto parts store.